The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.

How is Aviva handling business interruption claims from COVID-19?

Has your Aviva business interruption claim due to COVID-19 and the lockdown been denied? It's possible that Aviva's position on your claim or complaint might change as a result of the 'Test Case'. Here's what we know right now.

Which Aviva business insurance policies are affected by the Test Case?

To see which of their business interruption policies may be affected by the Test Case, Aviva has reviewed policies issued before 17 June 2020 that provide cover for business interruption caused by:

  • The presence of a disease at, or in the vicinity of, an insured premises (a disease trigger); and/or
  • The action of the government or other authority which prevents or restricts the access or use of an insured premises (a denial of access trigger).

After this review, Aviva has included 6 policies in the list of non-damage business interruption policies that may be affected by the final resolution of the FCA's Test Case:

  • Marsh / Jelf / Bluefin Material Damage and BI - Resilience
  • BHIB – CharityAssured Policy
  • Ensphere – Surgery Policy
  • Graybrook – Your Surgery Policy
  • Maven – Practicecare Policy
  • Maven – Sports & Social Club Policy

Confusingly, inclusion in this list does not necessarily have in impact on any particular claim, since each policy wording and circumstance are considered on a case-by-case basis. And policies not listed here may still be impacted by the High Court ruling.

What next

Aviva has written to policyholders to inform them whether or not their claim/complaint might be affected by the Test Case.

If Aviva has sent you any communications saying that your claim or complaint 'will not be affected by the Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming Test Case process' then their previous decision (e.g., to not pay a business interruption claim) stands. That basically means that the Test Case judgment doesn't apply to your policy or the language in it.

If Aviva has sent you any communications saying that your claim or complaint 'may be affected by the Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming Test Case process' then this essentially means you're still in the wait-and-see phase. Aviva will be reviewing their position on claims that could be affected by the judgment. In the end, they could say you are covered, even if they have previously denied your claim.

If you're unhappy with the situation you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Time limits to make complaints are suspended during the Test Case, for those whose policies have been affected.

Aviva says that if you've already made a complaint or claim that you don't need to do anything else at the moment. (Check that page for updates on this.) They say that they will review everything and if their position on your claim or complaints changes, they will write to policyholders.

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The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.